To Be a Leader
by Jaxrond
Summary: Juryu Kuzuko is princess and heir to the Kuzuko clan, a somewhat secretive clan in possession of an ocular Kekkei Genkai. On a mission given to her by her father, she befriends Gaara, the calm and collected future Kazekage, Together the two of them make their way through life, learning just what it means to be a leader. Gaara/OC rated for blood and gore and some steamy content.
1. The Kuzuko Princess

**Hello, Jaxrond, here. Some of you may have already read my Bleach fanfic, ****_Lucky Numbers 3 and 9_****, or my -man fic, ****_Selene Thandof_****. Both were received well, so I have decided to see how another work of mine will be received. I've been writing Naruto fanfictions for about four years now and have never been able to get the one that I wanted to publish on this site. Juryu was my first Naruto OC and I have been developing her character and writing her into different plots and pairing her with different characters since the beginning. I have finally come up with the right pairing and plot. Juryu has been paired with Rock Lee, Itachi, Kakashi, Deidara, and a couple others in story starters that I just didn't see going anywhere. Finally, I settled on Gaara. I hope that you enjoy the story. Please, Read and Review.**

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Juryu Kuzuko sighed as she and her brothers entered the Leaf village. The lilac haired girl shivered slightly. Her home climate on the consecutive border of the lands of Fire and Wind was much more moderate than that of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was cooler in the forest, so much so that she and her two companions, her elder brothers, had felt the need to add lightweight jackets to their ninja gear. The twin boys stood on either side of her, obviously flanking her in a defensive position. She glanced back at them, taking comfort in their presence as she faced a new and foreign place.

Takazu, the more level headed of the two, seemed to emit a calm confidence. His expression was serious and unperturbed. His light brown eyes, almost an amber shade, scanned the village with apparent disinterest. Juryu knew differently, though. She had spent enough time with her brother to know that he was mentally filing away possible shortcuts and escape routes, should they be needed. Takazu's twin, Kain, also exuded confidence, though in a different manner than his brother. He bore a cocky smirk and his eyes, identical to Takazu's, danced mischievously. His confidence almost bordered on arrogance, but still, it soothed Juryu, whose nerves were beginning to wear thin from the journey.

The three of them were on a mission for their father, the head of the Kuzuko clan. They were to attend the Chuunin Exams in order to break through the wall of mystery that had been erected between the clan and the rest of the shinobi world. It was a peace mission. Lord Kuzuko had thought that the coming Exams were the perfect time to make a move due to the disaster that the last exams had ended in, when the criminal, Orochimaru, had attempted to lay waste to the Leaf.

Kain stretched and groaned, his muscles sore from traveling.

"Ohhh," he groaned, "I'm gonna die. That was terrible. I didn't think we'd have to go so far."

"Imagine how far some of the other competitors must travel. Such as those from the Grass," his twin said calmly, not looking at him.

Kain winced.

"Ooh, you're right. That would really suck."

Juryu sighed.

"Come on, we need to go register, let them know we're here."

The twins followed her as she walked a path memorized from a map. Kain kept up a semi-steady stream of commentary as they passed through the village. Takazu, as ever, was silent. Juryu's golden eyes took in her surroundings. The Leaf village bustled with life as the shinobi traveled down the main street. They were earning quite a few stares, their personalized ninja gear marking them as outsiders. The Kuzuko siblings ignored the villagers, focusing instead on the building in which they would register. As they entered the building, they passed numerous other teams who were there in order to take the exams. The teams eyed them, attempting to gauge their abilities, and muttered amongst themselves.

As Juryu was about to mount the stairs leading to the second level, a sneering voice rang out, causing all muttering to cease.

"I thought I smelled something foul. Should have known it was the little _princess_," the word was spat out as if it were a curse, "Juryu Kuzuko and her brothers, Tweedle Dumb and Dumber."

Juryu came to a halt, her hand on the railing of the stairs. After a short pause, she turned, dropping her hand, to face the speaker. The girl she now faced gave her an unpleasant smile.

"Azula Yuang. In the two years since we last met, I would have thought that you matured a bit more," her eyes narrowed slightly, "Obviously not."

"Tch," Azula pushed off from the wall she had been leaning on, "Just who the hell invited you, princess?"

By now, they had the attention of every team in the waiting area. Juryu stood straight and tall, ignoring their stares and whispers of 'princess? of what?'.

"My brothers and I are here on the mutual consent of the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, and my father, Lord Kuzuko," she crossed her arms over her chest, "As a token of goodwill to further develop the alliance between the Leaf and my clan."

Azula sniggered.

"Oooh, running errands for daddy again. You always have been a little kiss up."

Juryu turned back to the stairs, placing her hand on the rail again.

"Seeing as you and I have met only once before, I would say that you have no basis upon which to make that statement."

She placed her foot on the bottom step, preparing to leave. Azula snarled.

"Don't turn your back on me, you Kuzuko brat!" she made a move toward Juryu.

Takazu stepped in between them, his arms crossed, and stared down at the offending Yuang member.

"We have been asked to set aside the history between the Yuang and Kuzuko, but if you provoke us, it will come back into play."

Azula scowled furiously at him.

"It was never out of play," she spat, "The very sight of that little witch pisses me off," she raised her voice, "You won't walk out of these exams alive, Juryu. I'm going to kill you...preferably with my bare hands," her red eyes glowed with hatred as she stared at the purple-haired girl.

Juryu looked over her shoulder at Azula.

"I wouldn't make threats I can't follow through with, were I you," she began to walk up the stairs, "Kain, Takazu, we need not waste our time with her idle threats and chatter. If she wants to fight, I'm sure there will be plenty of room for that in the ring. Until then, we need not pay her any mind."

Kain raised his eyes from Azula's irate face to glance at her teammates. A scrawny, emaciated female stood slightly behind her leader, leering at him. Off to the side stood a large man, who grinned, fingering the hilt of the sword that was strapped to his back.

"I'll be seeing you in the ring, Kuzuko," he rumbled.

Kain smirked.

"Nah, you usually can't see the person who's kicking you in the butt, Akuma."

A few of the gathered shinobi sniggered at this. Kain gave a mock salute before following his sister. Takazu stood for a moment longer, meeting Azula's glare.

"I am not as forgiving as my siblings, Azula Yuang. It is my duty to protect Juryu. If you make a move against her," the air around him turned cold and murderous, "I will kill you."

With that he disappeared and reappeared next to his siblings, halfway up the stairs.

Azula looked after them, her eyes burning with hatred and rage. Then she spun on her heel, long red hair whipping out behind her.

"Akuma! Aneko! Let's go," she stalked toward the door.

The emaciated female followed along behind, her lank, white hair falling into her red eyes, the leer never leaving her face. Akuma followed as well, his sleeveless shirt allowing full view of his rippling muscles. The remaining teams watched as they left.

"Hmph, bunch of freaks this year too," a boy wearing purple face paint and carrying a pair of bandage-wrapped figures on his back turned to face his two teammates.

"Yeah, I'm surprised they let the Yuang clan in. Those guys have a reputation," his sister, a blonde with a large fan strapped to her back, replied.

"So do we," the most imposing of the three, a red haired boy, put in.

The elder two siblings were still unused to the change their brother had undergone at the last exam, but they were making an effort to become more of a family unit.

"That's true," Konkuro agreed.

"But we helped them out with the whole Sasuke deal and now the Sand's allies with the Leaf," Temari shrugged, "So that may be their reason."

Gaara was silent for a moment.

"That girl, Juryu Kuzuko, what do we know about her?"

Temari and Konkuro exchanged surprised looks.

"Well...if I'm remembering correctly," Konkuro began, "Her clan is situated on the border of the lands of Fire and Wind, she's the daughter of the clan head, and she has two elder brothers."

"Who I'm assuming we just saw," Temari said, "The clan has also got some kind of serious rivalry with another clan, the Yuang. They've been warring for generations. Otherwise...not much is known about them. They sometimes pop up in historical texts, allying with the Sand and Leaf, but they're a pretty secretive bunch."

Gaara never changed expression as he took in this information. The girl had piqued his curiosity. There had been something in her eyes when she looked at the Yuang girl, a sort of sadness. He had expected anger at the insults or maybe even annoyance, but there had been only a deep sadness, as if the Yuang girl reminded her of some terrible event. Then, as soon as she turned away, it was gone, pushed deep down inside and hidden away. He had also sensed a quiet power radiating from her, the power of a strong shinobi. His brow furrowed very slightly. She would be one to keep an eye on.

"Why the sudden interest, Gaara?" Temari asked.

His blue eyes flickered to her.

"There's something about her," was all he said.


	2. The First Round

Juryu leaned against the wall outside the inn where the contestants in the exam were boarded, her eyes closed, enjoying a bit of sunlight that shone down on them. Kain and Takazu stood with her, waiting for the time at which they would leave for the first exam. Most of the contestants were already gone, leaving the siblings to discuss matters amongst themselves.

"Dammit, what the hell is the Yuang clan doing here?" Kain muttered.

"Language, please, brother," Juryu said, her eyes still closed.

"Sorry, sis."

Takazu turned to look out on the street as he replied.

"Their presence here will complicate matters."

Juryu sighed, pushing off from the wall.

"I was hoping that they wouldn't interfere this time," she opened her eyes, "I suppose it was just wishful thinking."

"They try to intervene with every peace mission we go on," Kain said.

Takazu was silent for a moment.

"I agree. What is even more troubling, however, is that they know when and where our missions are," he looked back at his siblings seriously.

Juryu's eyes widened.

"Takazu...are you suggesting that we have a traitor?"

"I hate the thought just as much as you, sister, but we have to consider it."

Juryu's brow furrowed and she stared across the street at a young couple, walking along with their hands linked.

"We can't afford to simply start suspecting our clansmen. Dissention will build and we'll be open to attack," she sighed, looking back to her brothers, "No, our best option is to strengthen our alliance with the Leaf and Sand. With two such powerful villages backing us, maybe the Yuang will be put off."

"That's a big 'if', sis," Kain said, his eyes fixed on the ground, "In my experience, the Yuang are driven by hatred of the Kuzuko. Most of them act like Azula," he looked up, "Crazy and bloodthirsty. They may not hesitate even then."

There was a brief silence. Juryu gave a small exhalation, closing her eyes briefly.

"Still...I hate this feud. So many lives have been lost. The Yuang reject all attempts at peace talks. Children are left without parents...and we haven't the number of open homes to take all of them in," she began to walk down the street, "Damn them and their stubborn hatred."

Her brothers followed her as she made her way down the street.

"Juryu," Takazu said softly, moving to walk alongside her, "You are not clan head. You needn't trouble yourself with the war, that is father's job. And it will remain his job for a long while yet. Right now, your task is to undertake the chuunin exams. That is all."

Juryu gave her brother a small smile of thanks.

"So, since we're done being depressed, how about we get some optimism going before we take the first part of that exam," Kain grinned.

Takazu allowed a small smile to creep over his face.

"Indeed. Just think of how proud mother would be that we are here."

Juryu smiled.

"Yes. I can see her smiling," she briefly rested her hand over her heart, "I can feel her joy."

The Kuzuko siblings made their way back to the registration building and once again climbed the stairs. The found the room in which they would test without trouble and pushed through the doors, Juryu in the lead, entering a large classroom. Every eye in the room turned to the newcomers.

"Looks like you didn't scare her as bad as you thought, Azula," Aneko's rasping voice said from a nearby corner, "She's still here."

"Tch, not for long," Azula replied.

Juryu spared them an emotionless glance as she made her way to an empty seat, followed by her brothers. A rain shinobi stood to block her path in the aisle. He smirked somewhat lecherously, blatantly looking her over. Kain narrowed his eyes but made no move to step in. Takazu watched with his usual emotionless expression.

"So you're the Kuzuko princess, huh?" he reached out to take a strand of her lilac hair, which was loosed over her shoulders.

Juryu slapped his hand aside.

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

He chuckled darkly, glancing at his teammates, who were also smirking.

"Hear that, boys? She's a feisty one," he looked down at her, his grin widening, "You know," he said, not bothering to lower his voice, "I've heard princesses make good bed mates. Maybe after this first exam, you and I can..." he trailed off suggestively, moving to touch her face.

A cuff of sand wrapped around his wrist.

"She told you not to touch her."

Juryu looked over in surprise at the one who had stepped in to defend her. A red haired boy was seated at the end of a row of desks a few feet away, a large gourd propped next to him. He watched the offender with emotionless blue eyes.

The man sneered at him.

"What the hell are you gonna do about it, you little sand rat?"

The boy's eyes flashed.

"If you wish to keep your arm, I suggest you leave her alone."

The man was silent for a moment. Then he shrugged.

"Tch, fine whatever. It was just a bit of fun."

There was a pause, then the sand fell away from his wrist and floated back to the boy, funneling into the gourd. The man looked back to Juryu.

"My offer still stands."

She glared up at him.

"If you ever suggest such a thing again, I will personally rip off what makes you a man," she said in a dangerously low voice.

His eyes widened slightly as Juryu pushed past him. She smiled at the boy who had stepped in to help her.

"Thank you."

He nodded once.

"It was no trouble."

"Still, you didn't have to do that for me," her smile widened, "But I'm glad you did," she offered him her hand, "I'm Juryu Kuzuko."

He looked at her hand for a moment before taking it in his own.

"Gaara, of the desert."

Juryu shook his hand once.

"It's nice to meet you."

"You as well."

Kain sighed.

"Man, threatens one guy off and starts flirting with another."

"Shut up, Kain," Takazu deadpanned.

Juryu ignored them.

"I guess I'll see you later, Gaara."

He nodded and she turned away, making her way to an empty seat. Kain glanced back at the man Juryu had threatened.

"Man, the nerve of some people. Still," he smiled slightly, "He was messing with the wrong girl."

"Indeed," Takazu said softly, "Though the intervention on the sand boy's part was a welcome surprise. It very much went against his reputation. I was surprised when I heard his name."

"I heard that he changed at the last exam," Kain murmured, "Looks like it's true."

Suddenly, the door at the back of the room opened and a large group of people came in. At their forefront was a leaf ninja with a scarred face, wearing a long black coat with a bandanna covering his head.

"Alright, listen up, I've got a seating chart right here," he announced without any preamble, holding up a sheet of paper, "There will be no whining about your seat. I honestly don't care if you can't sit next to your best friend, boyfriend, or mommy. You've just entered the Chuunin Exams, it's time to put on your big boy pants and grow up!" he walked down the center aisle, the rest of the group following him.

"Front row!"

People scrambled out of the front row as names were called to fill the seats. Each team was effectively divided and spread out. Juryu found herself in the fifth row on the left, two rows behind Kain, three in front of Takazu, who what on the right side of the room. She glanced over and found Aneko to her immediate left. The emaciated girl grinned unpleasantly through her lank white hair, her red eyes flashing.

When everyone had been seated, the assistants took up chairs, one at the end of each row, lining the sides of the room. Juryu was in the middle of her row, between Aneko and an unfamiliar shinobi. The proctor stepped to the front of the classroom and stood, his hands behind his back. His black eyes observed them all.

"You will all receive a written exam," there were a few groans, "On which there will be nine questions. The chuunin on either side of the room are stationed to watch you in order to discourage cheating. If you are caught cheating three times, you, and your teammates, will be expelled from the exam and will not be permitted to move on to the second round."

Juryu listened intently as the assistants each passed a stack of papers down their designated row, one test for each person.

"The tenth question will be given in one hour, after the first nine questions have been completed," his eyes scanned them, "Begin."

Juryu looked down at her paper, scanning the questions. She quickly realized that while she was intelligent, these questions were beyond even her. Aneko, who had obviously realized the same thing, reached down to scratch her leg. Or, at least, that is what she appeared to do. In reality, she was stealthily removing a syringe from a pouch of needled vials on her thigh. She stabbed the syringe into the wrist of her opposite arm, not even wincing as she emptied a brackish fluid into her own veins. After a few seconds, her pupils shrunk so that they appeared to disappear. She stared intently ahead at the person in front of Juryu and began to write in answers.

Juryu watched this process out of the corner of her eye.

_Aneko is a master of toxins, poisons, enhancement fluids, and herbal draughts. She must have created something specifically for the purpose of enhancing her vision_, Juryu thought, her eyes darting about the room, _As much as I hate to, I'm going to need to use my clan's Kekkei Genkai in this._

She briefly closed her eyes.

_Soul Reader_.

When she opened them again, they had changed color, from gold to green. The world around her sprang into vibrant colors. She blinked rapidly, trying to sort them out. The Kekkei Genkai of the Kuzuko clan, the Soul Reader, allowed the user to view a person's aura and therefore their chakra nature. The coloring of an aura was based on personality as well as chakra type. All around Juryu arose a spectrum of blues, greens, reds, silvers, and browns. She focused on the emotions flashing through the individual auras. By doing so, she found that she was not the only one who had found a means of cheating.

After a few moments of searching, she found a pale red aura that was filled with boredom. This piqued her interest. That someone would be bored during the exam made no sense. Juryu concentrated and found that the aura belonged to a man two rows ahead, one seat to the right. She focused on him, the Soul Reader piercing his flesh and muscle, giving her an x-ray layout of his body. The Soul Reader's main purpose was to find the shatter points of a person, the weakest points on their body, in order for the Kuzuko clansmen to aim their attacks at those points. Juryu picked up the usual faint sparks of light that appeared at his joints and vital points, showing them to be fragile against attack. She pushed herself harder, forcing her eyes to see through him completely. The Soul Reader was not meant for this, and Juryu felt the strain on her eyes, the vessels in the ocular tissue popping. She stared through the man and began to copy his answers, reasoning that if he was bored, then this must be extremely simple for him, therefore he must know the answers.

Pacing herself with him, she copied all nine answers. As soon as they finished, nearly twenty minutes later, Juryu immediately deactivated the Soul Reader. Her vision was fuzzy as she looked down at her paper, letting her pencil fall to the desk beside it.

_I strained my eyes...ah, that was painful. I'm wondering now if I should have done that..._

She massaged her temples, allowing her eyes to fall shut.

On either side of her, she heard the scratching of her neighbor's pencils on their papers. Aneko's stopped a few minutes later. The boy to Juryu's right, however, continued scratching furiously. Obviously, he was attempting to answer the questions with his own brains. Juryu was sure that Takazu had been able to correctly answer all the questions without cheating. He was naturally academic and such things came easily to him. Kain, however, would most likely resort to the same tactics as Juryu.

The remaining minutes passed by slowly and silently , save for the thunk of kunai into desks as people were caught cheating, and the scraping of chairs as those who had been caught too many times stood to leave. Juryu became wrapped up in her own thoughts.

She wondered why the red haired boy, Gaara, had stepped in for her. Her brothers, while they had stood behind her, ready to defend her, had not intervened because they were aware that she could fend for herself. Not only had _he _ignored that to defend her, but Juryu had also caught someone else stand out of the corner of her eye. She had been too focused on the situation at hand to get more than a glimpse of him, a boy in a green jumpsuit with black bowlcut hair, her second defender.

_At least there are some gentlemen here and not just men like_ that _one, _she thought, _As for Gaara specifically...I'm thinking that he just didn't like the situation._

Her mind then moved to the next round of the exam. There were a few exam takers who seemed to know what they were doing, suggesting that they had taken it before. Juryu guessed that they had been in the disastrous last exam. There were to be two more rounds after this, and Juryu was fairly sure that they knew what was next. At first she wondered why the exam had not been modified, which, it obviously had not from the way some people were taking the test as if they had expected it. Then she thought, even if someone had taken the exam before, there was no way for that person to guard against these test questions. They were far too difficult for a normal genin. Even if a former test taker had studied to prepare, they would have had to fit hours of study in with a training regime as well as missions.

_So what's the point of this test, then? To force us to cheat? But why?_

Juryu realized she must have been thinking this over longer than she had guessed, because at that point, the proctor's voice rang out.

"Alright, time's up, put those pencils down."

There was a series of clatters as pencils were dropped.

"Now then, I am about to give you the tenth question. But before I do, know that there is a catch. If you answer this question incorrectly...you and your teammates can never take the chuunin exams again."

Juryu felt her eyes widen at this.

"How harsh," Aneko rasped under her breath, giggling slightly.

Juryu found that she agreed. Due to her standing as a clan heir who resided outside the jurisdiction of the five great nations, it did not matter if she was unable to take the test again. This was simply a diplomatic mission to promote the good will of her clan. Even if she failed, she would move up the necessary levels in her clan, where they had their own examinations. For those to whom it mattered, however, this was a daunting blow. She watched as numerous teams rose and filed out, preferring to come back next time rather than take the risk. To Juryu's utter surprise, she found that between those who had been caught, and those who had left nearly half the contestants had been eliminated.

_And we're just in the first round!_

The proctor's black eyes scanned the room.

"Is there anyone else?"

No one moved.

The proctor, who had previously been pacing, came to a stop before them all.

"Congradulations, you've passed the first part of the exam."

There were a few confused mutters.

"As some of you already know," he continued, overriding the mutters, "This part of the exam was meant to test you information gathering abilities. You may be wondering why we did not change the test from last time, knowing that many of you would be returning. The answer is simple. Even if you knew the purpose of the test, the chance that you would be caught cheating was still the same."

Juryu listened intently, resting her chin on her interthreaded fingers.

"Now, are there any questions before we move on?"

No one raised their hands. The proctor smiled slighty.

"Good to see that there aren't any obnoxious examanees this time around," his smile dropped, "Now then, you are all to meet at the Forest of Death tomorrow morning. Get a good night's sleep. Dismissed."


	3. An Alliance

"Forest of Death? That sounds fun," Kain said sarcastically.

"The Chuunin Exams aren't meant to be fun, Kain. They're meant to push you to the limit," Takazu sighed.

Juryu was silent as she walked with her eyes closed, following the sound of her brothers' voices.

"What's wrong, Juryu?" Kain asked, noticing that she was lagging.

Juryu cracked one eye open to look at him.

"I strained my eyes during the test."

Kain winced in sympathey.

"You didn't, Kain?" Juryu asked.

Kain shook his head.

"No. I got answers by mimicking the pencil movement of the guy next to me. What did you do?"

Juryu closed her eyes again.

"I used the Soul Reader to look completely through someone who was two rows in front of me."

"Juryu, it isn't meant for that," Takazu admonished, "It is only meant to give the user an x-ray view of their opponent's interior. You pushed it to double its true capacity...while using it at a distance."

"I know."

Takazu pulled Juryu to the side of the road, Kain following behind. Once there, he formed a handsign and then rested his hands over Juryu's eyes. Soft, green chakra glowed around his hands. Juryu felt almost immediete relief.

"So, you're a medical ninja."

Kain looked over to see the three genin from the sand coming toward them, obviously on their way from the testing hall as well. The group consisted of Gaara, whom the Kuzuko's had met earlier, and two others. One was a boy dressed all in black and carrying two bandaged, almost humanoid figures on his back. His face was marked with purple paint. The other was a girl who wore a light purple dress under what appeared to be a chestplate. She bore a large fan on her back. It was the girl who had spoken.

"Yes, I am," Takazu answered, his eyes never leaving his work.

"What happened?" Gaara asked as he and his teammates came to stand a few feet from the Kuzuko siblings.

Juryu replied, her face still partially covered by her brother's hands.

"I'm suffering a migrane from overextending my occular Kekkei Genkai. Takazu is soothing the occular nerves as well as the headache."

Kain grinned.

"Yeah, big brother's here to pick up the slack for your stupid mistake."

"Would you rather I had left the test blank and failed?"

"No."

"Alright then," Juryu's tone left no room for arguement.

"Ouch," the boy with the face paint mock winced, "Shut down."

Kain sighed dramatically.

"I'm used to it."

The girl stpped in to introduce herself.

"I'm Temari. These are my brothers," she smiled at Kain somewhat flirtateously, "And you guys are the Kuzuko siblings, right?"

"Yup. Takazu's my twin. Juryu's the youngest."

"Thanks for introducing me, Temari," the boy in black grouched before facing Kain and introducing himself, "I'm Konkuro," he nodded to his brother, "And you've already met Gaara."

The red haired boy's eyes flickered to Kain and he gave a short nod before his gaze moved back to Juryu.

"So, you guys are from the Sand, right?" Kain asked.

"That's right," Temari replied, "Pretty close to where you live, huh?"

Kain shrugged.

"Eh, we're about halfway between the Sand and Leaf," he smiled, "Feel free to stop by if you guys are travelling between."

Temari grinned.

"Thanks for the invite."

The chakra around Takazu's hands faded and he removed them from Juryu's eyes. Her eyelids fluttered as she blinked furiously, adjusting to the sudden light.

"There. Don't do it again. We all need to be at full capacity during this exam," her brother ordered.

"I understand. I'll be more careful."

Konkuro stepped closer to Juryu.

"Must be some ocular jutsu you've got."

She nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"It's not as powerful as the Byakugan or Sharingan, but still not to be trifled with."

She looked up.

"You used it to cheat on the exam?" Gaara asked.

"Yes. The purpose of the Soul Reader, our Kekkei Genkai, is to allow the user to see what appears to be an x-ray of their opponant's internal organs and such. I pushed it further by forcing my eyes to look through someone's entire body, not just the layer of skin and muscle. The results were rather painful," she sighed, "And before Takazu says anything, I understand that it was a foolish move."

"Hn," Takazu made no comment.

"Heh, guess you should be more careful. Don't wanna tick off your brother," Konkuro smirked and went as far as to trousle Juryu's hair.

She blinked owlishly before smoothing her hair down, her brows furrowed in a frown. Kain laughed.

"Aw, is the mean man picking on you, Juryu?"

Without looking, Juryu drove her elbow into his stomach, causing him to double over. Konkuro laughed at the misfortune of the other boy, Temari covered her smile with one hand, and even Gaara allowed his lips to twitch upwards. Juryu smiled slightly before speaking again, ignoring her brother, who was gasping for breath.

"Gaara," she aimed her question directly at him, "You've taken the exam before, correct?"

He nodded once, his blue eyes meeting hers unwaveringly.

"Yes."

"What happens in the Forest of Death?"

He looked at her for a moment before allowing his eyes to fall shut.

"It's a survival exercise."

By now, Kain had recovered. The Kuzuko siblings exchanged uneasy glances.

"Is that a bad thing?" Temari asked, noticing their expressions.

"Survival in and of itself, no," Kain's voice was serious, "Surviving with potential assassins breathing down your neck, yes."

"You mean those Yuang guys that started in with you yesterday?"

Takazu gave a short nod.

"The Yuang clan has been attempting to assassinate Juryu ever since she was a child. What better time and place to do it than the Chuunin Exams, where fighting is encouraged and there is no one to step in to keep you from being killed."

There was a moment of silence.

"That's a good point," Temari said.

She and Konkuro exchanged a look, communicating silently. Gaara slowly opened his eyes.

"I propose an alliance."

Everyone stared at him in surprise. He remained quite unpreturbed and continued speaking.

"Each team has something to bring to the table. Your Kekkei Genkai and medical ninjutsu will be useful. Our offensive ability is difficult to match. By working together, we can ensure that both teams come out alive."

"It's a good plan," Takazu said, "But how do we know that you can be trusted?"

Juryu spoke up, her eyes never leaving Gaara's.

"The Sand is also our ally. I see no reason not to trust them," she looked at her brother, "Besides, I don't see how we have another choice if we wish to live. I doubt that the Yuang will come at us alone. They most likely have allies as well."

"So, you accept?" Gaara asked, his siblings looking on with expressions almost like pride on their faces.

Juryu turned back to him.

"Yes, we accept. Thank you."

"It's no trouble," he looked over his shoulder at his siblings, "We had better get going. Baki doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Konkuro and Temari each made a noise of affirmation.

"Guess we'll see you guys tomarrow," Temari grinned.

"Later," Konkuro gave a short wave.

Gaara looked at Juryu.

"Tomarrow then?"

Juryu nodded, smiling.

"Tomarrow."

The sand siblings departed, leaving their new allies on the edge of the street. Temari looked at her brother seriously.

"Gaara, why ally ourselves with them?"

His eyes never moved from being focused straight ahead.

"Because I understand what it's like to wanted dead, assassinated."

"I get that, I do. But why them? Why not Lee's team, who we've worked with before?"

Gaara was silent for a moment.

"It's true that we have a deeper understanding of his team's ablities. However, I sensed that Juryu and her brothers are more powerful than they're letting on. They aren't here to complete the exam. They're here for the sake of diplomacy. Why would they have been sent into such a dangerous situation unless there was a surity they could complete the mission?"

"But they said themselves that they doubt they would make it out alive without help," Konkuro protested, "Because of the Yuang team."

"I'm guessing that the Yuang were an unforseen obstacle."

"If this team is as powerful as you're suggesting, Gaara, then there has to be a good reason they're afraid of this other team. Why put ourselves in harm's way?" Temari asked.

"Because even if we did not ally ourselves with them, we would be a target of the Yuang. It's widely known that the Sand has ties with the Kuzuko clan. It wouldn't surprise me if they weren't just targeting Juryu and her brothers. This way, not only do we gain safety in numbers, but the Kuzuko's knowledge about our opponents' abilities."

Konkuro and Temari exchanged a glance, unable to find a hole in Gaara's reasoning.


End file.
